


Better Than a Princess

by RockyBloo



Category: Original Work
Genre: Cuddling, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, werewolf girlfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27851670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RockyBloo/pseuds/RockyBloo
Summary: A nice and simple oneshot where Jack and Najla spend some nice quality time reading some fairy tales and wind up getting caught off guard by one's ending.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character





	Better Than a Princess

**Author's Note:**

> I ship my two OCs too much and my brain is rotting because of it.

Najla sat in Jack's lap, her eyes closed as she rested her head against his chest. His head rested right on top of hers. His eyes were busy gliding over the pages of the book in his hands, plopped in the middle of Najla's lap. A gentle purring emanated from the weregirl's throat as she listened to him narrate and occasionally comment on the tales he read.

At the moment, Jack was halfway done reading _Little Red Riding Hood_. Mild concern crossed his face as he turned the page and an illustration of the red hooded girl being dropped into the open maw of the Big Bad Wolf. Whoever had drawn it had added the extra morbid detail of her grandmother peeking from the back of the wolf's throat. Her mouth hung open in a silent scream.

"This...book is kinda a lot darker than the other one I checked out of the library." Nervousness coated Jack's voice, his eyes flickering downwards to the curly haired girl in his lap. Half of him was waiting for a response. The other half was checking to make sure she was still there.

Najla's left ear twitched as her purring lowered in volume to a soft humming. A questioning trill came from her. "What? Is this another one where she gets swallowed up by the wolf?"

"Y-yeah." He responded through a shaky laugh.

The wolf girl sighed as she reached a hand up and patted Jack on his cheek. "Don't worry, some big strong man with an _axe_ will come cut her out. Just like in the other book." Najla's tone was a mix of comfort and teasing, knowing that specifying the hunter's weapon would calm her boyfriend down.

Bridge was an interesting town as, aside from being populated by fairytales, it also was located near one of the hot spots for bloopers to spawn. These were objects that happened to fall through the occasional gaps their world and the other simply known as The World without Happy Endings. Rather than treating these minor pop-ups as alien artifacts, Bridge residents winded up embracing their strangeness. The library especially adored those that came in the form of books.

The two had been spending the evening reading over some of the books from the Bridge library. Due to them being bloopers from the World without Happy Endings, much of them were collections of fairy tale retellings, which had a strange layer of irony the two couldn't quite pinpoint. The book they were reading prior had a similar outcome for its little red riding hood, granted it was solved by the hunter busting in moments later with a gun. The book before that one had little red wielding a gun herself.

Jack murmured out a "Hopefully" that was nearly by him pressing his face to her hair and turned the page. Sure enough, there was artwork of a large man with a fire axe. The wolf looked at him in fear as the weapon loomed over his head. Jack's head raised a little, his tone now lighter. "Oh yeah, you were right."

A smug grin came to her face as Jack turned the page. The removal of little red and her grandmother was unrealistically clean as the hunter pulled them out of the gaping stomach of what seemed to be an unconscious wolf.

"Um...they got out but there isn't any blood," Jack squinted at the page. "I don't think that's...right."

Najla chuckled. "Babe, I'm pretty sure this book is for children. In the last story, Hansel and Gretel shoved the witch into the oven and she came out as a pie instead of a corpse."

Jack's face returned to Najla's hair again, muffling his voice once more. "I mean...who knows what happens when you kill a witch. Maybe they do turn into food..." He trailed off as he turned the page. It revealed little red and her granny enjoying the food in the basket with the hunter scolding a bandaged wolf in the background.

"Never mind, you're right. This book is for children."

Najla snickered at Jack's change in tone as he turned the page to see _Jack and the Beanstalk_ in big green letters, wrapped in vines. The farm boy did a complete 90 degree change in his attitude as he grinned widely. "Ah, Nana! They put my story right after yours!" His heart nearly leapt out of his chest, overcome with joy at the thought of being together with his girlfriend, even in a book from a different reality that had no idea they existed.

"Ah, did they now?" Najla gave a soft smile as she listened to Jack begin to flip through the pages. Having read the prior books, they both knew that his assigned fable didn't go through very many changes unlike little red.

"I wonder how this one deals with the giant! Judging from the other tales, he probably becomes friends with the other Jack and his mom." Jack continued flipping. Illustrations flickered by showing all the major checkpoints. There wasn't much use in pausing to comment and Najla seemed to be enjoying the fanning of the pages. Her purring returned in a higher volume at the weak breeze.

Jack chuckled about it and went to make a comment before his eyes got caught on a particular picture. Accidentally overshooting, he turned a couple pages to return to what had grabbed his attention. His heart did an irregular beat in his chest, causing it to ache ever so slightly. Najla had picked up on the immediate change, her purring fully coming to a stop.

Concern was in her voice. "Something wrong?"

The farm boy didn't respond immediately as he tried to sort his words out. The page itself wasn't horrific at all. To many, it would actually be seen as sweet, if not a little cliche. It was a detailed illustration of the other Jack, hand in hand with what seemed to be a princess. A crown sat on his head and they both had a big smile on their face.

"It's...um," Jack swallowed and faked a happy tone. "I-I guess this Jack got married to a uh...princess...of sorts." The happiness started to fade with each word as Jack felt his chest get colder. Although it was only seconds before Najla responded, it felt painstakingly long.

Najla hummed, showing she was listening as her head shifted to a slight tilt. "This _is_ a children's book so of course they'd go that route with it."

Jack didn't know if it was just his ears playing tricks on him or if Najla had her own reaction to the ending. Her voice lacked the same emotion it held when she was speaking about little red. It seemed dulled and more factual.

Not wanting to pry, Jack trying to lighten up the mood. "Y-yeah. They probably figured they might as well give him a girlfriend too!" A forced laugh followed. The girl in his lap merely moved her arms around herself in a half spirited hug. Her voice lowered.

"And what better a girlfriend than a princess?"

The laughter died immediately. A moment of silence passed before Jack gathered the right words to respond.

"I'd...say a lupine is a better girlfriend than a princess."

Najla's response was quick. "You have a personal bias."

The silence returned. The farm boy didn't know what to say. It's not a lie to say he is biased. Hell, when they first met, he thought she was going to eat him.

Jack was now fully sure of the change in Najla's attitude. Tired of looking at the wedding, he closed the book and set it aside. Hands now free, Jack focused on comforting his girlfriend. Slowly, he gently moved his arms around Najla, testing the waters to see if she'd let him continue. For a split second, Jack thought he heard the lupine purr motors start up again as Najla leaned back against his chest.

Relief filled his body, thankful that she hadn't leaned forward and instead increased the physical contact between them. Jack gently wrapped his arms around her small frame. A small squeeze led to Najla emitting a small hum. Upon the realization Jack had totally encased her in his arms, his cheeks glowed red.

Forcing his own bashfulness aside, Jack focused on the task at hand. Just because she was letting the cuddles continue didn't mean she was okay. At least not completely.

The silence lingered as Jack made sure to organize his words. He didn't want to stutter or stumble like he usually did and risk making things worse. The thought of accidentally upsetting someone so close to him made that heartache return.

However, Najla was the first to speak up. "Do you think...if Nevermore wasn't messing around with our stories...we'd be together?"

"Of course! I can't imagine not being with you!" Jack didn't hesitate in his response. A grin spread across his face as he gave Najla another squeeze.

"I mean...romantically. Not platonically." Her long ears drooped more as she spoke.

"I still stand by my answer. You make me super happy so...you've gotta be my happy ending, if not at least a part of it. Right?" Jack's grin widened, some tension leaving him as he noticed Najla's arms loosen to slip over Jack's. His gaze softened as he watched her fingers fiddle with his sleeves.

She let out a murmur. "You...make me super happy too..." The thought crossed her mind as she thought about the possibility of what their endings really were.

Technically their tales were already over, but with Nevermore screwing around with everyone's stories, no one could be 100% sure. Maybe they did get their happy endings a while ago and the only thing they had gotten was a serotonin boost. Maybe taking down Nevermore was a new addition to their stories and succeeding in it would give them their happily ever after. Or maybe they haven't actually found their true endings yet and are just living in blissful ignorance.Najla lightly bit her bottom lip as another thought crossed her mind.

What if she was holding Jack back from really finishing his tale?

Sure, she was safe from harm from her "Big Bad Wolf" but Jack's might not stop at chopping the beanstalk down. He could be destined to become a king with tons of wealth and a loving kingdom. He might be meant to have a wedding for the ages with a beautiful princess and live the rest of his days in the comfort of an enormous castle.

But he'll never have any of that because he's stuck with a weregirl who he thinks is his happily ever after.

Najla could feel the sting of tears in her eyes and she forced her head downwards in an attempt to keep Jack from seeing her face. With the position they were in, it was pretty difficult unless he moved his head to her shoulder. And even Najla knew that was too bold a move for the boy to do.

Or so she thought.

A sudden _mrrp!_ escaped Najla's lips as Jack shifted, his body weight pressing against hers, causing it to move forward slightly. She jolted as she felt lips pressed against her right shoulder.

Jack's eyes shifted to a lime green color as his voice lowered next to Najla's ear. "I'm not gonna let a book dictate who I'll fall in love with. Even if I really am meant to be with a princess, I'm staying with you. At least for as long as you'll have me...," He peeked at Najla's face.

Taking note of her now wet eyes, Jack softened his voice, returning it to it's usual tone. "I'm alright with you being greedy." He gave a lopsided grin, eyes lidded as they returned to their deep golden hue. He brought a hand up to wipe a tear away as it trickled down her cheek.

Najla couldn't help but chuckle, both at the comment and the situation. She felt a bit childish about how she got her farm boy to reaffirm his love for her over a children's book from a different realm. Having a better perspective now on the entire situation, Najla smiled. "I hope you mean that because I tend to have a death grip on things." The smile grew to a wide grin, revealing the sharp pearly whites her boyfriend had grown fond of.

Jack grinned back, showing off his slightly sharpened canines. "Til' death does us part then!" There was a second of silence before he gasped, the words seeming to trigger a light bulb. Jack pulled himself away from Najla's shoulder, giving her a short recess of space. "Wait a second what if it's marriage!?"

Najla was a little bummed out at the sudden distance, having enjoyed their closeness. That disappointment didn't last very long though as she realized what Jack had just said. Her eyes widened and a blush sprouted on her cheeks.

"M-marriage?" She stuttered out.

Jack hugged Najla tight to his chest, making sure not to crush her or apply an uncomfortable amount of pressure. "What if my happy ending is getting married to you? And the book just tossed the princess in as a red herring!"

Najla's cheeks only heated up more as the blush spread to her now fluttering ears. She certainly didn't think about them getting married as a happy ending before. It was certainly something she had hoped to do at some point with him of course! But she never thought about it as something related to either of them being a fairytale. She swallowed hard at the thought of walking down the aisle to her smiling soon to be husband. For some strange reason, the thought of kissing Jack to seal the deal of marriage made her much more flustered than when they normally kissed.

Jack seemed to pick up on Najla getting lost in her own thoughts and called her name to get her to return. She blinked a couple of times, remembering where she was. "S-sorry about that I was just...thinking about stuff." Najla reached up and grabbed her ears to stop their flapping. Jack just smiled down at her as he tossed out a guess he already knew was true.

"Like us getting married?"

Sometimes, Najla hated how good Jack had gotten at reading her. "Yes...us getting married," She paused to let Jack giggle before continuing. "I'm not against the idea though. To...be honest I'd love to do it," Jack's eyes began to shift in hue as his arms seemed to tighten around her waist.

"Not now though." Najla had picked up on the sudden burst in energy in Jack and knew she had to add that last part fast before he ran with it. His eyes faded back to gold and he rested his head on her shoulder with a sigh, his cheek squished against it.

"Ok, I can wait. It'd give me more time to work up a way to ask for your mom's blessing...," Jack paused before continuing, taking a moment to think more about mentioning her mother. "I...might actually need a year or two for that one."

Najla chuckled as she wiggled around in Jack's arms. In response, he pulled his head away and released her, expecting her to get up. Instead, the lupine spun around in his lap, throwing one leg over to his other hip so she could wrap her legs around him. Her arms found their way around his shoulders.

With a satisfied hum, Najla pulled him down some to plant a kiss under Jack's chin. Her purring returned as she felt his body temperature rise and she smiled. "I'll help you out with that one so don't worry too much about it."

He looked down at her, taking in her pale, tear free silver eyes and he smiled sweetly back. After gaining enough courage, Jack leaned in to close the distance closed between them, causing a happy trill to slip out of Najla as their lips met. Jack carefully wrapped his arms back around her, pulling her into him and the kiss.

Before it deepened, Jack glanced over to the book he had been holding moments earlier. With a now green gaze, he casually kicked the book as payback for emotional damages. It slid a small distance away.

The sudden movement caused Najla to pull away in mild confusion. "What was that?"

Jack just grinned, a light laugh in his voice. "Leg cramp! Probably from sitting too long."

Najla simply cocked a brow, the lie obvious to her. However, she decided to let it slide as a mischievous idea popped into her head. "Well in that case,"

Within seconds, Jack found himself in Najla's arms, having been scooped up bridal style. The farm boy's cheeks reddened again as his brain tried to compute the situation. It quickly ran out of time before Najla relocated him onto her bed with a simple toss.

Jack landed with a good bounce, the impact switching his eyes back to gold, before he was anchored down by Najla climbing on top and straddling him. She easily pinned him down, her hands resting on both sides of his head. The farm boy gazed up at her, taking note of how her eyes seemed to glow above him. Her ears flickered ever so slightly, picking up on his quickening heartbeat. Najla flashed him her teeth as she smirked down at him. "Feel better?"

The best Jack could muster out was a squeak. "Yes."

"Good." Najla simply gave him a peck on the nose, causing him to melt in mere seconds. "Now, do you wanna cuddle some more or do you wanna make out like I planned to do when I threw you?"

He gulped, a wiggly lined smile coming to his face. "B-both please."

Najla leaned in closer, her voice now lower. "Good choice." She purred as she went in for the kill.

Jack let out a sound that could best be described by some as bliss as Najla kissed him. Closing his eyes, the last coherent thought in the lad's head before it completely turned to goo was his certainty a lupine was definitely a better wife than a princess.


End file.
